What game got you into SHMUPS?
For me, it was Life Force on NES. My brother bought that game from nowhere, really a mindless bought. Well, we were surprised to discover it was freaking awesome, as we loved to play together. But the game that hooked me up like to shmups is Raptor : Call of the Shadow. Damn I played that game for so long.....ahhhhhh....good memories....*thinks about re-installing it*
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MadSteelDarkness
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Zweihander
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i've had games like Defender/Joust, R-Type, and Space Invaders on my game boy for as far back as i can remember, but the game that got me HOOKED on shmups (and also my introduction to manic shmups) was EspGaluda, which i'll be ordering from play-asia.com very soon ^.^ t'will be a joyous occasion, owning a LEGITIMATE copy of the game that got me into the genre. ^^
Schrodinger's cat wrote:Yeah, "shmup" really sounds like a term a Jewish grandmother would insult you with.
Stargate on the A2600 was the first. Was four years old at the time, I've been told, and could never get off the damn thing, playing day and night. (Even worked out the smartbomb trick by myself, using the second controller's fire button, I can remember ^_^) Nothing changes as I got older then, I'm still playing games day and night ^_^
My first proper gaming memory was when I was six, and on a shopping trip with my family, I stumbled across a large arcade with stacks of cabinets. Naturally, after much pestering, I was given a few quid to play (games being 20p a credit back then) and came across R-Type and Raiden, with Dragon Spirit around the corner, and Super Space Invaders '91 next to it. Good times for many good years followed.
Until all the arcades disappeared from my city
My mother has a photo of me as a little boy, reaching up to the controls on a Nemesis cab, buried deep in the family photo albums somewhere. Once a shmupper, always a shmupper, I guess.
My first proper gaming memory was when I was six, and on a shopping trip with my family, I stumbled across a large arcade with stacks of cabinets. Naturally, after much pestering, I was given a few quid to play (games being 20p a credit back then) and came across R-Type and Raiden, with Dragon Spirit around the corner, and Super Space Invaders '91 next to it. Good times for many good years followed.
Until all the arcades disappeared from my city
My mother has a photo of me as a little boy, reaching up to the controls on a Nemesis cab, buried deep in the family photo albums somewhere. Once a shmupper, always a shmupper, I guess.
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Shatterhand
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River Raid on the Atari 2600?
I've been playing games since I can remember, and Shmups had always been my fav genre. ALWAYS. Since back the old days, if somebody asked me "what is your fav genre", I'd always reply "Shoot'em ups". I was happy when I first came to this site, to know that I wasn't alone
On Atari 2600 I enjoyed a lot of Demon Attack, River Raid, Defender and Chopper Command.
When I went to the MSX, Zanac had always been among my favourite games, along with Star Soldier and Hype (And then with the MSX 2, I became a big fan of Aleste and Space Manbow)
Though between 93-98 I was stuck with old school shmups (Amiga-MSX-Mega-Drive-SNES), and I thought the genre was dead. In 98 I came across this site. I can't remember what year it was exactly (99 or 2000), Akira told me about a game called "Armed Police Batider", and how I would be able to run it in my then Pentium 233MHZ using Raine.
Armed Police Batrider brought me to the "new" breed of shmups. With Raine I got in touch with stuff like Dodonpachi and Gunbird. Because of this site, in 2002 I decided to buy a Sega Saturn and a PSX, and got dozens of shmups for both systems since then
I've been playing games since I can remember, and Shmups had always been my fav genre. ALWAYS. Since back the old days, if somebody asked me "what is your fav genre", I'd always reply "Shoot'em ups". I was happy when I first came to this site, to know that I wasn't alone
On Atari 2600 I enjoyed a lot of Demon Attack, River Raid, Defender and Chopper Command.
When I went to the MSX, Zanac had always been among my favourite games, along with Star Soldier and Hype (And then with the MSX 2, I became a big fan of Aleste and Space Manbow)
Though between 93-98 I was stuck with old school shmups (Amiga-MSX-Mega-Drive-SNES), and I thought the genre was dead. In 98 I came across this site. I can't remember what year it was exactly (99 or 2000), Akira told me about a game called "Armed Police Batider", and how I would be able to run it in my then Pentium 233MHZ using Raine.
Armed Police Batrider brought me to the "new" breed of shmups. With Raine I got in touch with stuff like Dodonpachi and Gunbird. Because of this site, in 2002 I decided to buy a Sega Saturn and a PSX, and got dozens of shmups for both systems since then
Galaga and Capcom's 1942 in the arcades had me hooked from the start. Then River Raid was the big one on the Atari 2600.
The fever really took over when I had Fire Shark for the Genny and Raiden II in the convenience store while I was in college. I fell off the wagon for a few years when I got married, then Gunbird on the Saturn and the discovery of MAME brought it all back to me!
That is a great testimony, Icarus! Gave me a grin as I remembered the old days when you could find "stacks of cabinets"....sigh......
The fever really took over when I had Fire Shark for the Genny and Raiden II in the convenience store while I was in college. I fell off the wagon for a few years when I got married, then Gunbird on the Saturn and the discovery of MAME brought it all back to me!
That is a great testimony, Icarus! Gave me a grin as I remembered the old days when you could find "stacks of cabinets"....sigh......
Last edited by gunbird18 on Fri Aug 26, 2005 3:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
"When you can say you love shooting games, I get the sense you’re no longer a normal person. (laughs)" - S. Yagawa
The first shmup-like game I played must've been a Centipede clone called "Spectipede" on the Commodore 16 when I was about 6 (I must be one of about 10 people in North America who owns a C16...) Like everyone else I rented Life Force for the NES on at least one occasion, and "credit-fed" my way through it using the Konami code. UN Squadron was the first SNES game I played; I remember being awed by the ADPCM music (wow, it sounds like a real saxophone!) more than anything else.
But the game that started me playing shmups "seriously" was Gigawing. There were two reasons the game grabbed my interest, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit either of them. First, the ludicrously inflated pinball-esque scoring pushed my adolescent "ZOMG BIG NUMBERZ" button, and second, I had a crush on Isha
But the game that started me playing shmups "seriously" was Gigawing. There were two reasons the game grabbed my interest, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit either of them. First, the ludicrously inflated pinball-esque scoring pushed my adolescent "ZOMG BIG NUMBERZ" button, and second, I had a crush on Isha
After playing Phoenix and Space Invaders I started to get a liking for games, but it wasn't until 1942 came out that I knew what games could really do.
And then came Gun.Smoke, I was hooked.
Now, I still play the pcb at least once a month, and I still haven't crushed the Wingate Family and no shmup has matched the joy of it this far. Although RFJ is pretty close...
And then came Gun.Smoke, I was hooked.
Now, I still play the pcb at least once a month, and I still haven't crushed the Wingate Family and no shmup has matched the joy of it this far. Although RFJ is pretty close...
Man, what a cool thread.
The first game I remember playing was Space Invaders on the Atari 2600 in the mid-80's. But I was never big into shooters until a college friend made me try Gradius III SNES, which I hated because of the difficulty. But a few months later I had the urge to give it another shot, and emulated it (I had no SNES at the time). For whatever insane reason, I picked up the Gradius III/IV PS2 collection and got hooked on Gradius III arcade, despite the controller-throwing difficulty, and later on Gradius IV as well.
Now some three years later, I'm fully addicted to shmups...to the point where I've bought 23 of 'em in the past four months.
The first game I remember playing was Space Invaders on the Atari 2600 in the mid-80's. But I was never big into shooters until a college friend made me try Gradius III SNES, which I hated because of the difficulty. But a few months later I had the urge to give it another shot, and emulated it (I had no SNES at the time). For whatever insane reason, I picked up the Gradius III/IV PS2 collection and got hooked on Gradius III arcade, despite the controller-throwing difficulty, and later on Gradius IV as well.
Now some three years later, I'm fully addicted to shmups...to the point where I've bought 23 of 'em in the past four months.
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Ex_Mosquito
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I played the odd shooter as far back as when i had as spectrum 48k, but i never give them much playtime. But the game that properly got me into playing shooters was the great mars matrix on the DC.
My Arcade 1-Credit Replays
http://www.youtube.com/user/exmosquito
http://www.youtube.com/user/exmosquito
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Klatrymadon
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nsonthi77@hotmail.com
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I remember being on holiday in France and they had a small arcade there. They had Wonderboy, some pinball machines and a shooter. I was perhaps ten years old and already had a severe interest in videogames.
Still I don't know the name of that arcade shooter. I think the backdrop consisted of buildings in at least one stage and sometimes also dinosaurs appeared. I think they gave powerups, though I'm not sure about that.
The first shooter I owned was Solar Striker for the Gameboy. I still remember how great it felt to own one and play when I wanted.
Still I don't know the name of that arcade shooter. I think the backdrop consisted of buildings in at least one stage and sometimes also dinosaurs appeared. I think they gave powerups, though I'm not sure about that.
The first shooter I owned was Solar Striker for the Gameboy. I still remember how great it felt to own one and play when I wanted.
May we speak the beauty of thee, O Earth, that is in thy villages and forests and assemblies and war and battles.
-Atharva Veda XII. 1. 56.
-Atharva Veda XII. 1. 56.
Whoops something happened with the quoting thereStill I don't know the name of that arcade shooter. I think the backdrop consisted of buildings in at least one stage and sometimes also dinosaurs appeared. I think they gave powerups, though I'm not sure about that.
Sounds like Prehistoric Isle by SNK
'Uridium' on the humble speccy was the first shooter i remember playing in any great depth. It was'nt till the 16-bit era that my shmup craze really started in earnest mainly due to the overkill of shooters released on the MD. Of those Thunder Force 3 is the one that really made me see shmups as a genre all on their own. Its still my favorite shooter of all time-top graphics, bangin' soundtrack and fast as hell, it had(s) a style and verve that other games i've played have seldom matched. Genius.
"What the hell kind of a two-bit operation are they running out of this treehouse, Cooper? I have seen some slip-shod, backwater burgs, but this place takes the cake."
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F-Zero X
Yes, I credit that game for getting me into shmups. I was absolutely obsessed with this game before it even came out, and when a nearby EB got a Japanese copy of the game in one of their kiosks, I became quite a familiar face. Anyway, I didn't buy the game for quite a while, as this was the time when I was living with my parents, I don't know if I was even in high school yet, no job of course.
Fast forward to a few years later. I was RPG-obsessed, having the majority of them released in the US for the PSX. I was really burned out on the genre, and was browsing through Gamestop one day when I noticed a used copy of F-Zero X for $10. Remembering how much I used to enjoy it, I wound up getting it. For the next several months, this game was just about ALL I played. I was very drawn in by the fact that you can easily play the game for just a few minutes and get every bit as much as playing the cups over and over, when before I had been in a loop of "if it takes 20 hours or less to beat, it's WAY TOO SHORT". Here you can beat a cup in 10-15 minutes, and I was getting countless hours out of it.
This broadened my view somewhat, which made me that much more receptive when I got Ikaruga the next year, and downloaded DoDonPachi shortly afterwards.
So, I guess it was Ikaruga and DDP, actually...well, I guess I typed this much already, so there's no going back.
Yes, I credit that game for getting me into shmups. I was absolutely obsessed with this game before it even came out, and when a nearby EB got a Japanese copy of the game in one of their kiosks, I became quite a familiar face
. Anyway, I didn't buy the game for quite a while, as this was the time when I was living with my parents, I don't know if I was even in high school yet, no job of course. Fast forward to a few years later. I was RPG-obsessed, having the majority of them released in the US for the PSX. I was really burned out on the genre, and was browsing through Gamestop one day when I noticed a used copy of F-Zero X for $10. Remembering how much I used to enjoy it, I wound up getting it. For the next several months, this game was just about ALL I played. I was very drawn in by the fact that you can easily play the game for just a few minutes and get every bit as much as playing the cups over and over, when before I had been in a loop of "if it takes 20 hours or less to beat, it's WAY TOO SHORT". Here you can beat a cup in 10-15 minutes, and I was getting countless hours out of it.
This broadened my view somewhat, which made me that much more receptive when I got Ikaruga the next year, and downloaded DoDonPachi shortly afterwards.
So, I guess it was Ikaruga and DDP, actually...well, I guess I typed this much already, so there's no going back.
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Zweihander
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